Overview of Vanguard fees and charges
We know that fees are on top of people's mind when selecting a broker. Brokerage fees consist of trading and non-trading fees. The most important trading fees are commission, spread, and financing rate.
- Commission: it's charged when you execute a trade (either buy or sell). Commissions can be volume-tiered or flat fees. Nowadays, there are many commission-free brokers, click on the following links to check out the best free stockbrokers in the US and the EU.
- Financing rate/overnight costs: if you trade on leverage, you may be charged for holding your positions overnight. This cost can be expressed as a percentage or in swap points.
- Non-trading fees: these occur when you deposit and withdraw funds, or if you don't use your account for a certain period.
Now, let's dive into the details and see what commissions, spreads, and financing rates Vanguard charges.
Vanguard commission and other fees
Vanguard commission and other trading fees
The good news is that Vanguard has low trading fees in general. We ranked the fees of Vanguard as low, average, or high based on how they compare with all reviewed brokers.
Check out this table to get an overview of whether Vanguard commissions, spreads, and financing rates for each asset class are low/average/high.
| Vanguard | J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | Ally Invest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock and ETF | Low | Low | Low |
| Forex | - | - | - |
| Fund | High | Low | Low |
| Bond | Low | Low | Low |
| Options | Low | Low | Low |
| Futures | - | - | - |
Now let's go over the trading fees for each asset class one by one.
Vanguard stock and ETF commissions, spreads
Vanguard stock and ETF commissions are low. Vanguard stock and ETF commissions are charged as per the table below.
| Vanguard | |
|---|---|
| US stock | Commission-free |
You can compare Vanguard stock and ETF fees with the two closest competitors.
| Vanguard | J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | Ally Invest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stock | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 |
Stock and ETF commissions are calculated for a $2,000 trade
Vanguard fund commissions
Vanguard fund commissions are high. The table below shows how Vanguard fund commissions are calculated.
| Vanguard | |
|---|---|
| Mutual fund | $20 per trade if investment is less than $500k, but Vanguard funds and 3000 other funds are free |
Check out how Vanguard fund fees compare with the competition.
| Vanguard | J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | Ally Invest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mutual fund | $20.0 | $0.0 | $10.0 |
Fund commissions are calculated for a $2,000 trade
Vanguard bond commissions
Vanguard bond commissions are low. The table below contains the description of Vanguard bond commissions.
| Vanguard | |
|---|---|
| US Treasury bond | $0 per trade for US Treasury bonds, for other bonds $1 per $1,000 face value, max $250 |
See how Vanguard bond fees stack up against the competition.
| Vanguard | J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | Ally Invest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Treasury bond | $0.0 | $0.0 | $10.0 |
Bond commissions are calculated for a $10,000 trade
Vanguard options commissions
You can see below the description of Vanguard options commissions. Vanguard options fees are low.
| Vanguard | |
|---|---|
| US stock index options | Under $1 million investment, $0 flat fee plus $1 per contract |
| US stock options | Under $1 million investment, $0 flat fee plus $1 per contract |
Compare options commissions charged by Vanguard with those of J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing and Ally Invest.
| Vanguard | J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | Ally Invest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stock index options | $10.0 | $6.5 | $5.0 |
| US stock options | $10.0 | $0.7 | $5.0 |
Options commissions are calculated for 10 contracts
Vanguard commission and other fees
Vanguard non-trading fees
In addition to trading fees, it's important to see if Vanguard charges a fee on deposits, withdrawals, account maintenance, and inactivity. We compared these fees levied by Vanguard with its two closest competitors.
| Vanguard | J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | Ally Invest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Account fee | No | No | No |
| Inactivity fee | No | No | No |
CFD fees are calculated for a $2,000 trade using 20:1 leverage for stock index CFDs, and 5:1 leverage for stock CFDs
Vanguard commission and other fees
Bottom line
Hopefully, by now you have a clear picture of the commissions, spreads, financing rates, and non-trading fees charged by Vanguard and its closest competitors. To learn more about Vanguard, check out this detailed review. If you would like more information about fees in general, read this article about brokerage fees.
If you're not sure which broker to choose, get a personal recommendation from our broker recommendation algorithm or compare brokers with our broker comparison table.
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